Rail-joint support.



No. 772,610. PATENTED OCT. 18, 1904.

, c. A. ERIGKSON. RAIL JOINT SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

A TTOHNE Y v UNITED STATES Patented October 18, 1904.

PATENT POEEIQE.

CHARLES A. ERICKSON, :OF GHI CAGO, ILLINOIS.

' RAIL-JOINT SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Iatent No. 272,610, dated October 18, 1904.

Application filed July 1, 1904. Serial No. 214,932- (No model.)

T or whom it may concern.-

1 Beitknown that I, CHARLES A. ERIoKsoN, a

, tening of the upper edges of the rail ends.

A rail-joint support of the general type to which my invention relates and on which my.

invention is designed as an improvement is shown in Letters Patent to Dickey, No. 758,586, granted April 26, 1904. In this type of joint-support the meeting ends of the rails are connected by means of vertical 'side clamps to an anchor-bar underlying one or more ties on either side of the rail-joint, said bar constituting a support for the tie'or ties directly beneath the joint, which support being suspended from the rails themselves distributes the stress at the joint-for some distance inwardly of the two ends of the rails.

- My invention contemplates not only the elimination of independent depression or vertical oscillation of the meeting ends of the rails, but also the elimination of simultaneous Vertical oscillation of the rail ends, and this is accomplished through a novel form of suspension-truss hung from the rails and so constructed that vertical stresses applied directly above the joint react through oblique struts or compressionbraces to uphold the joint against such downwardlyeacting stresses.

My invention in its preferred form is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, where- Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view-of a 'rail equipped with my improved joint-support on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 isa side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of one of the twin elements of the lefthand connection-piece. Fig. 1 is a similar viewof one of the twin elements of the righthand connection-piece, and Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the plate or bar which underlies the ties adjacent to the joint.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates each of a series of ties, the middleone of which supports the meeting ends of a pair'of railroad-rails 11, the vertical joint formed by the ends of said rails being indicated by thel-ine 14.

15 designates the usual fish-plates, clamped to the websof the rails by the bolts 16. 17 designates a narrow plate or bar, preferably of steel, of sufficient length to underlie the intermediate tie and one or more ties on either side thereof. This plate has cast integral therewith on its upper face a pair of upstanding lugs 18, provided with bolt-holes 19. The plate 17 is rigidly secured to the base of the rails on either side of the joint 14 and preferably also to the base of the fishplates, where fish-plates of sufiicient length are employed, by connection-pieces which'are constructed as follows: Each connectionpiece in the preferred form herein shown consists of a pair of elbow-shaped brackets, each comprising integral vertical and oblique or inclined arms 20 and 21, respectively, which merge at their lower ends and at their separated upper ends are provided with hooks 22 and 23, respectively, snugly fitting over theedges of the bases of the fish-plates and rails. A pair of these elbow-brackets are employed on either sideof the joint, the two members of each pair being oppositely faced and united by tie-bolts 24 and 25, passing through apertures26 and 27, respectively, in the verti-.

cal and inclined arms of the members, and by a tie-bolt 28, passed through a hole 29 in the lower end of each member and also through the aperture 19 of the lug 18, thus rigidly clamping said members to the rail-base and plate 17. It will be observed that the connectionpieces on one side oflthe joint are inversely disposed relatively to the connection-pieces on the other side of the joint and that the inclined portions 21 of said connection-pieces are upwardly convergent toward the joint of the rails. Preferably, and as herein shown,

the outside ties are so disposed as to contact the outer vertleal edges of the lugs 18 and the elbow-brackets, while the intermediate tie directly underlying the rail-joint contacts the inner edges of the upper ends of the oblique arms of the elbow-brackets.

The operation of the device under the vertical strains of the weight imposed by a locomotive or car while directly above or closely adjacent to the joint is as follows: The stress acting through the rail upon the intermediate tie tends to depress the latter, which tie cannot yield downwardly without bending or bowing the plate 17. Any flexing or bowing of said plate thus produced would necessarily draw the two lugs 18 slightly toward each other; but such a movement of the lugs cannot take place without imparting to the upwardly and inwardly inclined arms 21 of the connection -pieces an upward tendency or movement which results in maintaining the rail-joint elevated in its normal position. It is thus seen that the parts are so interbraced that mutual yielding between them is virtually impossible. The bar 1'7 does not bend, because the inclined arms 21 act as struts, keeping the lugs 18 always the same distance apart, and since the plate 17 is thus prevented from bending vertically it follows that the tie directly supporting the rail-joint cannot yield vertically.

From the foregoing it will be seen that my invention provides a joint-support of great rigidity which not only supports the tie directly underlying the joint, but also affords a solid support for the rails on either side of the joint, since the downward stress is always counteracted and balanced by the upward thrust through the inclined compressi on-stru ts 21, the structure constituting, in effect, a suspended truss. For the purpose of this latter effect the vertical portions 20 of the connection-pieces are not absolutely necessary; but I prefer to employ them as affording a stronger and more extended hold of the connectionpieces on the rails and preventing a relative sliding movement between said parts. If preferred, the connection-pieces may be welded to the rails or fish-plates, or both, by which still greater strength and rigidity will be attained, though at a somewhat greater expense in the matter of construction and application of the device.

I do not limit the invention to the precise forms and relative arrangements of parts as herein shown and described, so long as the essential and fundamental feature of the upwardly-convergent connection-pieces acting as struts between the rails and the underlying tie-supporting plate on either side of the joint, respectively, are employed.

I claim 1. A support for the meeting ends of railroad-rails comprising a suspension-truss hung from the bases of the rails and including a di rect vertical support beneath the rail-joint and diagonal struts on either side of said vertical support, substantially as described.

2. A support for the meeting ends of railroad-rails comprising a plate adapted to underlie one or more ties on either side of the rail-joint, a tie or other support between said plate and railjoint, and upwardly-convergent connection-pieces between said plate and the rails on either side of the joint, respectively, said connection pieces acting as struts to transmit upwardly to the rails downwardlyacting stresses transmitted to said plate through the joint and its immediately underlying support, substantially as described.

3. A support for the meeting ends of railroad-rails comprising a plate adapted to underlie one or more ties on either side of the rail-joint, a tie or other support between said plate and rail-joint, and upwardly-conve rgen t connection-pieces between said plate and the rails on either side of the joint, respectively, each of said connection-pieces comprising a pair of inclined o1)positely-faced struts connected at their lower ends to said plate and at their upper ends embracing the rail-base, with means for uniting said struts laterally, substantially as described.

4. A support for the meeting ends of railroad-rails comprising a plate adapted to underlie one or more ties on either side of the rail-joint and provided with vertical lugs near each end, a tie or other supportbetween said plate and rail-joint, and connection-pieces between said plate and the rails on either side of the joint, respectively, each of said connection-pieces comprising a pair of oppositely-faced elbow-brackets having vertical and upwardly and inwardly inclined arms secured at their lower ends to said lugs ol the plate and at their upper ends clamped upon the rail-base, said inclined arms acting as strut members to prevent bending of said plate under vertical'loads on or near the railjoint, substantial] as described.

5. The combination with the meeting ends of apair of railroad-rails, a tie directly beneath and supporting the joint, and a tie on either side of said intermediate tie, of a plate underlying said ties, and connection-pieces between said plate and rails on either side of the rail-joint, respectively, said connectionpieces being disposed between said intermediate and outside ties and each having a vertical and an upwardly and inwardly inclined arm, and provided with means for connecting the common lower end of said arms to said plate and for securing their separated upper ends to the rail-base, substantially as described.

OHARLES A. ERICKSON.

\Vitnesses:

SAMUEL N. POND, ADA H. Pom).

ICS 

